The mission to save Superman took a surprising turn for the worst in the season 1 finale of Krypton. After spending an entire season trying to prevent Brainiac from destroying Kandor, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) and his allies finally find a way to stop him. Unfortunately, Brainiac's defeat doesn't preserve the timeline as Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) had hoped it would. Instead, their victory has allowed the rise of a new threat to the universe: General Zod (Colin Salmon).

The explosive season finale sets in motion a number of storylines that are sure to play out in season 2, which was recently ordered by Syfy. We discover that Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day) is actually a clone created by the leader of Black Zero, Jax-Ur (Hannah Waddingham). We can expect this shocking reveal to have major repercussions for both Nyssa and Krypton itself.

However, the more pressing concern is, of course, Zod, who has made himself the planet's new ruler. Zod has clearly become the show's next big bad, but this doesn't mean that we've seen the last of Brainiac. The finale also sets up a battle with another major Superman villain: Doomsday.

Brainiac's Defeat

Brainiac standing still and smiling in Krypton

In the season finale, Zod and Seg are forced to put aside their differences to make a stand against their common enemy. Zod reveals that Seg's grandfather, Val-El (Ian McElhinney), is still alive and trapped in the Phantom Zone. Zod retrieves Val-El from the Phantom Zone and plans to use Val-El's knowledge of the future as a bargaining chip against Brainiac. Against Seg's wishes, he attempts to trade Val for Krypton's survival. Seg is able to deceive Brainiac and lure him into a trap. Since Brainiac is far too powerful for anyone to defeat physically, Seg sends Brainiac into the Phantom Zone. Unfortunately, Seg is sucked into the portal as well. Despite knowing that Seg is his father, Zod destroys the console that operates the portal to ensure that Brainiac never returns.

This confrontation neatly wraps up the season's main plot by finally dealing with Brainiac. Even though Seg is in the Phantom Zone, Superman's cape in the Fortress of Solitude is seemingly restored, which could mean that Seg doesn't have to be free for the Man of Steel to be born. Could it be that his son, Jor-El, has already been conceived? In the finale, Nyssa rescues their son, Cor-Vex, from the Genesis Chamber. It's possible that the fall of the House of Vex will result in Cor-Vex being renamed "Jor-El".

Since Seg is still trapped in the Phantom Zone, the beginning of season 2 will most likely focus on his escape. What could make this problematic is that Brainiac—and who knows who else—is there with him. The villain could seek revenge on the person responsible for his failure to add Kandor to his collection of worlds.

General Zod's Ascension

A few episodes ago, it was suggested by Jayna (Ann Ogbomo) that Zod was secretly plotting to take control of Krypton following the conclusion of the battle with Brainiac. Zod challenged Jayna to a duel, and would have lost, had it not been for interference from his mother, Lyta (Georgina Campbell). Zod's intention was obvious: he wanted to eliminate a potential political rival.

With Brainiac out of the way, General Zod is free to follow through on his plan to take over Krypton. The character is shown making a speech to the people of Krypton, telling everyone his plans for the planet's future. Zod can finally get the imperialistic society he always wanted. Now that Krypton is finally aware of the existence of alien life, Zod can lead them in branching out, exploring, and conquering new civilizations. He ends his speech with his trademark line: "Kneel before Zod". The scene is effective in setting up Zod as the main antagonist of season 2.

General Zod has both Dev-Em (Aaron Pierre) and Lyta on his side, but not everyone seems willing to accept Zod as their new leader. Based on the finale's closing scenes, the resistance will be made up of Jax-Ur, Nyssa, and Val-El.

Page 2: Zod Conquors Earth and Doomsday Escapes

General Zod Conquers Earth

One of the biggest moments of the finale is when Superman's cape suddenly changes from red to black. The 'S' symbol is replaced with the emblem of the House of Zod. This development cements the changes to the timeline caused by Brainiac's defeat. Superman's entire legacy has been undone in a single moment.

In our first glimpse of Earth, we're shown a troubling look at an American city as all of its citizens are frozen in place, unable to move. The scene resembles the fates of other planets that have been added to Brainiac's collection. This could mean that Brainiac will eventually be freed from the Phantom Zone. If that happens, Brainiac will presumably continue collecting civilizations in his journeys across the universe.

In the same scene on Earth, we're given a look at a  statue of Zod, which indicates that Earth is one of the many planets Krypton will conquer under Zod's rule. One way to interpret this scene is that Zod will take Earth first, and in the years to come, will be unable to stop Brainiac from taking it for himself. Either Zod fails to defeat him, or is too busy conquering other planets to stop him. What we can gather from this scene is that the rise of Zod is just as bad for the universe as Brainiac.

Doomsday

When Zod first revealed Brainiac's true plans to Seg and the others, he explained that the only way to defeat Brainiac was to unleash an "unkillable" weapon: Doomsday. The fan-favorite villain, who bears a remarkable resemblance to his comic book counterpart, has been guarded by a group of cultists for centuries. Thanks to Adam Strange, Zod was unable to set Doomsday free. He made a second attempt in last week's episode but was thwarted by Seg's efforts to hide Doomsday from him.

Just when it appeared that Krypton would be spared from Doomsday's destructive fury, the creature smashed his way free of his prison in the closing seconds of the season finale. Doomsday finally breaking free of his prison was an important moment that the series had been teasing for several episodes.

Doomsday's freedom could have catastrophic consequences for Krypton. This could be particularly troubling for Zod, who will be expected to maintain order. If Zod can't contain Doomsday, the general's reign may come to a quick end in season 2.

More: What to Expect From Krypton Season 2